Fire burns up to 50 acres on Kimball Island near Antioch

A fire that erupted during weather conditions unusual for winter burned an estimated 40 to 50 acres on an island near Antioch on Tuesday, a fire official said.

Capt. Scott Bahrenfuss of the Rio Vista Fire Department said the brush fire on Kimball Island scorched three buildings and six outbuildings. The 109-acre island in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is only accessible by boat, forcing fire crews to battle the blaze using fire boats and by dumping water from helicopters.

The cause of the fire is not yet known, but Bahrenfuss said Tuesday's dry conditions helped fuel flames. A red-flag fire warning, which is unusual for January, was issued by the National Weather Service on Tuesday and remains in effect until Thursday morning.

The Kimball Island fire began on the south part of the island at around 3 p.m., sending a heavy plume of black smoke over the San Joaquin River and Antioch waterfront. It later moved westward toward an inhabited building, forcing the U.S. Coast Guard to evacuate four people. No one was injured.